LA businessman accused of conspiring with Utah polygamists in multi-million dollar fraud scheme

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An Eyewitness News Investigation examines the strange alliance between a suspected mobster in Los Angeles and a polygamous clan in Utah, and how it ties into a mysterious group called "The Order."

One polygamist testified the men had more cash than they could ever spend, before their billion dollar scheme unraveled.

Prosecutors say Los Angeles businessman Levon Termendzhyan is a criminal mastermind and the driving force behind a scheme to defraud the government and taxpayers of more than $1 billion.

Termendzhyan allegedly conspired with Utah polygamists, including brothers Jacob and Isaiah Kingston, the chief executives of Utah's Washakie Renewable Energy.

The Kingstons "flipped" before trial and are now testifying against Termendzhyan in a Salt Lake City courtroom in the biofuel fraud case.

"Once Jacob Kingston pled guilty, they had to reverse field, and that's only been within the last seven months, which has forced them to make it out that poor Jacob was the dupe and Levon was the mastermind, which couldn't be further from the truth," said Mark Geragos, Termendzhyan's defense lawyer.

Watch the video above for the full report.